NASASpaceFlight.com Forum
International Space Flight (ESA, Russia, China and others) => Chinese Launchers => Topic started by: savuporo on 12/30/2014 09:58 pm
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Certainly news to me that Chinese are flying electric propulsion technology demonstrator as of now.
https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/s/shi-jian-9
SJ-9A spacecraft:
Use of the CAST-2000 platform providing high attitude control precision and stability. It has an S-band TT&C subsystem and an X-band data transmission subsystem, data integration is provided with the OBDH (OnBoard Data Handling) subsystem using the CAN bus for communications; a high power generation capability is provided.
The satellite is composed of the electronic module, propulsion module and payload module. Hall electric propulsion and ion electric propulsion are installed separately on the +X surface and -X surface. The camera is installed on the bottom plane of the payload module.
http://erps.spacegrant.org/uploads/images/images/iepc_articledownload_1988-2007/2013index/2013-K.pdf
V. Conclusion
To verify the XIT and HET technology and the system integration capability, an EP system is designed, developed and verified for satellite SJ-9A. Through a series of groundingtests , the EP system is qualified for the requirements of the satellite SJ-9A, which was launched in October 2012, and initially in - space tested in December 2012.
The EP system works extremely well after the parameters were adjusted initially, and the performance is
very close d to the same type of electric thruster with equivalent power in USA and Europe. The results indicate that the first electric propulsion developed by China have been successfully verified in space
That is pretty awesome capability to have flight qualified, both for comsats and future deep space missions.